


Overthinking It

by xenoglossy



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mid-Canon, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 09:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13701687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenoglossy/pseuds/xenoglossy
Summary: Makoto tries to think of the perfect message to send to Hifumi.





	Overthinking It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TSwiftEliot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TSwiftEliot/gifts).



It shouldn’t be so hard to send a simple message.

Hifumi had given Makoto her contact information, which implied that Hifumi would not find it objectionable for Makoto to contact her. It suggested, in fact, that she would enjoy it. Yet Makoto had been sitting on her bed deleting and rewriting a message to Hifumi for the last half hour, worried that if she didn’t word things just so, Hifumi would never want to speak to her again.

_I greatly enjoyed discussing strategy with you when we met in Jinbocho. If you’re amenable to it, I would be interested in continuing--_

No, that seemed too stiff and formal. It also sounded a bit like Makoto was asking for shogi lessons, and Hifumi probably didn’t want more than one pupil at a time. Makoto needed something that sounded more fun and casual. How would Eiko word it?

_hey girl! it was super cool meeting u--_

No, that was a complete non-starter. It wasn’t Makoto’s idiom at all. It only made her feel foolish, and would probably look just as bad. Hifumi didn’t seem like the kind of person who texted that way, in any case, so it likely wouldn’t leave a good impression. (Though one could never be sure, of course.) She went back to the more formal diction and tried again.

_It was a pleasure meeting you the other day. It’s not often I have the opportunity to discuss strategy with someone else who truly understands--_

No, that sounded conceited and like an insult to her other friends. It wasn’t that they were too stupid to grasp what Makoto did; they simply weren’t interested. She deleted _who truly understands_ and replaced it with _who has a passionate interest_ , but then it occurred to her that the whole thing sounded like she was laying it on a bit thick, so she deleted it all.

Makoto flopped back onto her bed and covered her face with her hands. She just needed to get it over with, she knew. If she kept on dithering and never sent a message at all, Hifumi would think she wasn't interested, so surely an imperfect message was better than none at all. It was just that it was uncharted territory. Makoto had barely even had friends her own age until recently, much less any interest in dating. And while she could send messages to her friends without deliberating over it for an unduly long time, this was different.

She lay there for a few moments longer, then sat up and looked at the phone again. She could do this. She just had to keep it short, simple, and to the point.

_Hi! It was nice meeting you in Jinbocho recently, and I’d love to talk to you about strategy again. Would you like to meet up sometime soon? I know a good crepe place in Shibuya._

There. A little flavorless, perhaps, but at least it was relatively straightforward and not obnoxious. She hit send.

When the message notification sounded a few minutes later, Makoto was almost afraid to look, but she made herself do so anyway.

_Sure, I would love to go out with you! Are you free on Tuesday?_

As Makoto was typing her response, another message arrived:

_I mean, not necessarily as in go out on a date! Just go out around town and do things._

And then:

_Unless you meant as in a date? I’m sorry, for all that a shogi player has to be able to read her opponents, I really can’t read the mood in other situations._

A smile tugged at the corners of Makoto’s lips. At least this was uncharted territory for both of them. Hopefully, they could figure it out together.

**Author's Note:**

> In the giant block of text that was the nominated Persona 5 tags, I completely missed that this ship was nominated, so I didn't offer or request it, but I love these two nerds so much that when I saw your request I decided I _had_ to treat you. I'm sorry I didn't have time for anything longer, but I hope this is a fun small morsel!


End file.
